4 Great Tips: Cloud Security for Big Data

he combination of cloud computing and big data is a match made in heaven. Big data requires a flexible compute environment, which can scale quickly and automatically to support massive amounts of data. Infrastructure clouds provide exactly that. But whenever cloud computing is discussed, the question comes up:
What about cloud security for big data?

When it comes to cloud security in a big data use case, the expectation is that any security solution will provide the same flexibility as the cloud without compromising the overall security of the implementation. When taking your big data to the cloud, the following four tips will enable you to achieve cloud flexibility paired with strict cloud security.
1. Encrypt sensitive data (seriously)

Data encryption creates the “virtual walls” for your cloud infrastructure. Deploying cloud encryption is considered a fundamental first step, but there is no solution with a “one size fits all” approach. Some encryption solutions require on premise gateway encryption, which does not work well in cloud big-data scenarios. Other approaches (for example, data encryption powered by the cloud provider itself) force the end user to trust someone else with the encryption keys, which is both risky and a compliance deal-breaker.

Recent encryption technologies, like split-key encryption, are tailored specifically to the cloud and leverage the best of both worlds by providing an infrastructure cloud solution while keeping the encryption keys safe and in the hands of the customer.

To achieve the best possible encryption for your big data scenario, use split-key encryption.